Traore was assaulted and hit over the head when protesters found him inside the palace. The president was later taken to the hospital where he was treated for a wound to his head, hospital staff said.

"There were three dead and some injured by gunshot when [Traore's] security shot at people," said Bakary Mariko, a spokesman for the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy, a group of military officers who mounted a coup in March. Read More